I have a 1.5 foot tall plastic christmas character. The cord has a UL tag rated for indoor and outdoor. The manufacturer tag says indoor only, though. Am I safe putting outdoors?
Electrical – Indoor vs outdoor lighting
electricaloutdoorsafety
Related Topic
- Electrical – Wrap indoor USB adapter into plastic bag for outdoor usage
- Electrical – Do I need exterior rated electrical cable to add a house mounted electrical outlet or disconnect switch
- Electrical – Are outdoor receptacles required to be GFCI receptacles in the US
- Electrical – Using indoor only power adapter outside
- Wiring – New CO/ALR vs AlumiConn Connectors for Outdoor Outlet
Best Answer
This is a common question we get when people want to install electronic components from electronics supply houses into their home wiring. They point to the UL listing on an Ohmite resistor, and they say "It's listed, see?"
The answer is that certification of a component, is not at all the same as certification of the entire piece of equipment. Leviton will place that same Ohmite resistor inside an appropriate cage and sell it as equipment for home wiring.
And so it is with your toy and cord. The tag on the cord only applies to the cord as a component. The entire toy has a separate rating which is more restrictive.
That said, the life-safety issues of using the toy outdoors are largely prevented if you are plugged into a circuit that is GFCI protected. The protection can either come from a GFCI+receptacle device, or from another piece of GFCI equipment on the circuit between there and the service panel, such as a GFCI breaker, GFCI receptacle indoors, or GFCI stand-alone "deadfront".